This year the scientists of the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Sols-Morreale (IIBM), CSIC-UAM are once again celebrating #11F, International Day of Women and Girls in Science with a multitude of activities throughout the month of February.
This year the slogan has been #We all do science, to let society know that both women and men are equal when it comes to working in all areas of science. It also serves to highlight the biographies of relevant women scientists, both present and past, and perhaps we are contributing to encourage scientific vocations in girls and adolescents.
An event that cannot be missed in February is the "Escape-Road: In search of Nobel and non-Nobel women scientists", which this year took place at the Marcos Ana Municipal Library in San Sebastián de los Reyes, and it was Marina Guillén, together with other researchers from the Institute of Materials Sciences of Madrid (ICMM-CSIC), who accompanied 105 students from 2nd ESO through this path full of women scientists.
Fifty students of 4th grade of primary education from CEIP Lepanto visited the Faculty of Medicine of the UAM and the IIBM. In one of the classrooms of the Faculty, professors Blanca Lizarbe, from the IIBM, and Jaris Valencia, from the Complutense University of Madrid explained what is studied at this institution. At the IIBM, Belén Peral took groups of 12 students to visit the IIBM, its laboratories, its services, a cold chamber, a place they liked very much, and they learned about the preparation of the media "in the kitchen". Blanca Lizarbe, in turn, showed them her laboratory and what hat experiments are investigated.
Numerous specialists reflected on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of gynecological and breast cancer at the #MujerHoyCancerCare meeting held on February 1. Guillermo de Cárcer was interviewed by journalist María Elvira about the latest advances in research on these types of cancer, whose prevalence continues to increase, although it is true that a higher percentage of patients are cured.
Ana Guadaño and Soledad Bárez returned to the Mirador del Arco de Cuchilleros to talk about Neuroscience. They presented, together with other researchers, an interesting proposal entitled "Cheers To Women in Neuroscience". This format where science is taken to the bars had, as last year, an excellent reception.
Numerous schools have chosen IIBM researchers to come to their classrooms to talk about science, mostly with students of ESO and Bachillerato. Sandra Franco and Belén Peral repeated the same educational center as last year, IES Gonzalo Torrente Ballester and IES Cervantes, respectively. Ángela Martínez-Valverde visited Colegio Asunción Cuestablanca. María Alieva participated for the first time in #11F with a conference entitled "Rockets and microscopes: the legacy of women computers" at IES Marqués de Santillana de Colmenar Viejo. For Constanza Contreras it was also her first time at #11F. She gave the lecture: "There are no predetermined roles in Science" to high school students of the Colegio Fontenebro Internacional.
Soledad Bárez ventured with the little ones, specifically the children of first and second grade of primary school at CEIP Amador de los Ríos. She carried out the scientific workshop: "What do I have inside my head?". Cristina Peña Maroto also explained the meaning of this 11F celebration to very young students at CEIP Los Ángeles in Torrelodones.
Teresa González, Alejandro Samhan and Óscar Martínez organized a conference on what motivations and concerns one should have to dedicate oneself to the exciting world of research. The meeting was held in one of the classrooms of the Faculty of Medicine of the UAM.
In this commemoration of #11F, a scientific route could not be missing: Teresa Navarro from the Sebastián Cerdán Biomedical MRI Service and Mónica Martín Belinchón from the Optical and Confocal Microscopy Service will coordinate the activity entitled "Bioimaging techniques in biomedical research". Pilar López Larrubia and Mercedes Mirasierra will also collaborate. Students of 4th ESO of the Calasanz School of Pinto will be the lucky ones to visit the IIBM on February 21, thus putting the finishing touch to the tribute that the IIBM makes every year to women scientists in all fields of knowledge.